Battening system for hatch covers

ABSTRACT

An S-shaped hook engages, at one end, a peg on a hatch cover and, at a distance from that end, is pivotally connected to the hatch coaming and also connected to a power source so that the hook member is moved to sealingly close the hatch cover to the coaming.

United States Patent Ostrem 1 Oct. 10, 1972 [54] BATTENING SYSTEM FOR HATCH [5 6] References Cited COVERS UNITED STATES PATENTS [72] Inventor: Halvor Ostrem, Skarer, Norway 3,164,403 1/1965 Jerome et al. ..114/203 X [731 Asslgnee= Kvaeme" Brug Nmway 3,291,514 12/1966 lsaksson ..114/203 x [22] Filed: Nov. 3, 1970 v Primary Examiner-Andrew H. Farrell [21] Appl' 86542 Attorney-Watson, Cole, Grindle & Watson [30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT Nov. 4, i969 Norway ..4363/69 An S-shaped hook engages, at one end, a peg on a hatch cover and, at a distance from that end, is 49, pivotally connected to the hatch coaming and also 292/ 1 13 connected to a power source so that the hook member Int. Cl- ..B63b i moved to ealingly close the hatch cover to the [58] Field of Search...l 14/203; 292/2565, 111, 113, coaming.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDnm 10 m2 3' 696' 774 sum 1 [1F 3 FIG].

INVENTOR WM/45.... W 54/1 A? ma PATENTEDum 10 m2 3 'v 774 SHEET 2 OF 3 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Pmmmumm 1972 3,696,774

SHEET 3 [IF 3 INVENTOR BY .MM/ 5 2/497 AT ORNEY BATTENING SYSTEM FOR HATCH COVERS The present invention relates to a battening down system for use in connection with hatch covers onboard ships, or under similar conditions in which a hatch or opening is provided with a coaming and is to be sealingly closed by means of a cover.

When so sealingly closing a hatch, it is of great importance that the systems used, are such that the battening elements proper, under and upon the battening are subjected to forces which are directed essentially in the battening direction, and so that transversely directed wedge effects are ignorable at the dimensioning of the elements involved. Hereby, particular attention must be paid to the fact that hatch covers of such dimensions which are now commonly in use aboard ships, may be subjected to temperature conditions which cause the face on which the cover is to sealingly contact the coaming may not be plane, so that all the battening systems around the coaming are not always to perform exactly the same battening effort.

Further, it is desireable that each individual battening system is the least possible voluminous, both in open and closed condition of the hatch, and also that the individual elements of the system be rugged and simple, both in manufacture, use and maintenance.

According to the present invention, care has been taken to all the desires referred to above, the system being of the type which comprises a hook member which at one end may catch a peg on the hatch cover and, at a distance from such end, through a link is pivotally connected to a peg on the hatch coaming and also connected to a power source, the hook member and the hatch coaming being provided with means which may slide with respect to each other for guiding the movements of the hook member under the influence of the power source.

In order hereby to achieve that the system be self locking in battened down position, it is so made that the pivot peg of the link, anchored on the hatch coaming, is disposed perpendicularly below the hatch cover peg and so that the link, during closing movement of the system, may pivot with its peg connecting it to the hook member through the vertical extensionof the center line betweenthe hatch cover peg and the hatch coaming peg, while simultaneously the co-operation of a peg and a cam face, constituting the guiding means, effects a guidance of the hook member so that the upper portion of said hook member makes a circumscribing movement about the hatch cover peg for ultimately to tighten the hatch cover peg towards the hatch coaming peg as the connection peg passes the vertical extension of the center line between the hatch cover peg and the hatch coaming peg.

Thus, it is possible to form the hook member as a flat body which is merely moving in its own plane and consequently, together with the associated link and pegs, is not substantially projecting from the side face of the coaming and, when the cover is removed, is occupying very little space in the direction of height of the coaming. The battening force exerted by the system will be a multiple of the force provided by the power source and will in fact increase as the cover is tightened.

From a consideration of space economy, and in particular in order that the pivot peg of the hook member be so arranged that the various parts of the system be subjected to the slightest possible stresses when in battened down position of the cover, the connections between the hook member and the hatch coaming peg and between the hook member and the power source are positioned in a hook formed portion of the member, so that the hook member, in its entirety, is substantially S shaped, in which the hatch coaming peg may be embraced by the lower curved portion of the S, and the system be locked in battening position.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, a sim ple and practical, preferred embodiment of the battening system of the invention is now to be described.

FIG. 1, 2 and 3 are all side views of the system as seen towards one side face of the coaming, FIG. 1 in the position occupied when the hatch is uncovered, FIG. 2 in an intermediary position and FIG. 3 in the battened down position.

In the drawing, 1 is the hatch coaming and 2 the hatch cover. The cover 2 is provided with a battening peg 3, while the hatch coaming l is provided with a pivot peg 4 and a guide peg 5. Further, the coaming 1 is provided with a bracket 6, mounting a double acting hydraulic jack comprising a cylinder 7 and a piston rod 8.

The hook member is denoted 9, and is provided with a hook formed nose 10 at one end adapted for cooperation with the cover peg 3 and, at the other end with a hook formed portion 11 carrying a pivot peg 12. Further, the member 9 is provided with a cam shaped portion 13 adapted to cooperate with the guide peg 5 on the hatch coaming 1. Between the coaming peg 4 and the hook member peg 12, there is arranged a link 14, mounting a pivot 15 connected to the piston rod 8 of the hydraulic jack.

In FIG. 1, the system is shown with the various components in the position they occupy when the coaming is uncovered. The end of the hook member 9 presenting the nose 10, is then at rest against a face 61 on the bracket 6 on the coaming l, and the various components are so positioned and formed relatively to each other that the hook member 9 as a whole occupies a substantially horizontal position, just clear of the top edge of the coaming l. The jack is also occupying an approximately horizontal position.

When the jack is so operated that the piston rod 8 is withdrawn into the cylinder 7, the link 14 is swung on the axis of the pivot peg 4, thereby carrying with it the hook member 9 by means of the peg 12, at the same time as the jack swings in its bracket 6. The cam 13 is shaped with a concave portion 131 and the hook member is, during this initiating movement, engaging the guide peg 5 by gravity so that the portion 131 slides on the latter, thereby causing the hook member to perform a swinging movement to the position shown in FIG. 2, in which the nose 10 is situated just above, but

at a distance from the peg 3. Due to this distance, the

height of the peg 3 above the hatch coaming may vary, without bringing the peg into contact with the lower surface of the nose 10, which contact might cause the peg to be subjected to a horizontal wedge effect. In this position, the peg 5 and the cam'13 are so positioned relatively to each other that the peg 5, during continued swinging of the link 14 under the influence of the jack will engage a cam portion 132 which is so shaped and extending in such direction relatively to the cam portion 131, that the hook member 9 will then be so moved that the nose is moved in the direction of the battening down, in the present case downwardly, into engagement with the peg 3 and then press the same towards thehatch coaming 1, so that the cover 2 is forced against and maintained in engagement with the coaming. This situation is illustrated in FIG. 3.

In this position, the axis of the pivot peg 12 is situated slightly beyond the vertical line through the axis of the pegs 3 and 4, so that the hookrnember is locked against any unintentional movement in a direction for disengagement of the battening. For the purpose of such self locking, the hook member 9 is, as shown, at the end situated remotely from the nose 10 so shaped thatthe coaming peg 4 is positioned in the lower bight of the S shaped hook member.

For the disengagement of the battening, the operations and movements described above, are performed in the opposite order, the link 14 being then pushed by the piston rod :8, and the nose 10 is initially moved in vertical direction so as to be released from the peg 3, the remainder of the movements being self evident from the description given above.

In the embodiment of the system shown in the drawings and described above, the link 14 is in the form of a one-armed lever in relation to the coaming peg 4. However, it is obvious that the link may be a two-armed lever, if local conditions should so indicate.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings and describedabove, the guiding peg 5 is mounted on the hatch coming. Itv will, however, be obvious that the guiding peg 5 may be mounted on the hook member for cooperation with a cam member mounted on the hatch coaming.

I claim:

1. A battening system for use in connection with hatch covers aboard ships or under similar conditions, comprising a hook member which at one end may catch a peg on the hatch cover and, at a distance from such end, through a link is pivotally connected to a peg on the hatch coaming and also connected to a power source, the hook member and the hatch coaming being provided with means which may slide withe respect to each other for guiding the movements of the hook member under the influence of the power source, characterized in that the pivot peg of the link, anchored on the hatch coaming, is dispoed perpendicularly below the hatch cover peg and so that the link, during closing movement of the system, may pivot with its peg connecting it to the hook member through the vertical extension of the centerline between the hatch cover peg and the hatch coaming peg, while simultaneously the cooperation of a peg and a cam face, constituting the guiding means, effects a guidance of the hook member so that the upper portion of said hook member makes a circumscribing movement about the hatch cover peg for ultimately to tighten the hatch cover peg towards the hatch coaming peg as the connection peg passes the vertical extension of the center line between the hatch cover peg and the hatch coaming peg.

2. A battening system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the link during closing movement of the systemand after-the connection peg having passed the vertical extension of the center line between the hatch cover peg and the hatch coaming peg is restricted in it pivoting movement e. b me us of an abutme tin th ower source or by the hook member abutting again t the hatch coaming peg. 

1. A battening system for use in connection with hatch covers aboard ships or under similar conditions, comprising a hook member which at one end may catch a peg on the hatch cover and, at a distance from such end, through a link is pivotally connected to a peg on the hatch coaming and also connected to a power source, the hook member and the hatch coaming being provided with means which may slide withe respect to each other for guiding the movements of the hook member under the influence of the power source, characterized in that the pivot peg of the link, anchored on the hatch coaming, is dispoed perpendicularly below the hatch cover peg and so that the link, during closing movement of the system, may pivot with its peg connecting it to the hook member through the vertical extension of the center line between the hatch cover peg and the hatch coaming peg, while simultaneously the cooperation of a peg and a cam face, constituting the guiding means, effects a guidance of the hook member so that the upper portion of said hook member makes a circumscribing movement about the hatch cover peg for ultimately to tighten the hatch cover peg towards the hatch coaming peg as the connection peg passes the vertical extension of the center line between the hatch cover peg and the hatch coaming peg.
 2. A battening system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the link during closing movement of the system and after the connection peg having passed the vertical extension of the center line between the hatch cover peg and the hatch coaming peg is restricted in it pivoting movement, e.g., by means of an abutment in the power source or by the hook member abutting against the hatch coaming peg. 